Rumpolephoreskin's Existential Wanderings in and Around Negril

[Lola]

Ahhh, Fatty & wife, you met a great couple!! Hey Rum, I'm from Wisconsin too :-)

[Rum-polephoreskin]

Lola,
Deb, isn't it?

I don't know Lola, you always seem swathed in an air of mysterious coincidence, some kind of Merlin-like fog.

[bbcamp2]

...an air of mysterious coincidence...

I will have to remember this and use it sometime...

[irieworld]

I love Sips and Bites. I sat at that same table my last trip and had some of the best escovitch fish ever. I have never had a bad meal there. Love their brown stew chicken also.

[Jbizek]

Loving the story, saving info for my trip. Country and Western Bar for Jenny Cake, took note. Though had such at Jenny's back in '10 and wasn't impressed, perhaps these are better?

[Rum-polephoreskin]

DAY (6) Monday

Alfred opened the door to his van. He was taking us to Rockland Bird Sanctuary. I’d never been further than Negril before. The only Jamaican country I’d ever seen was the old Mo-Bay rd. to Negril (with the ganja bridge) and now on this trip, the new road that sold the sea views to the highest bidder.

Verdant is the most apt description of the country side.


We headed out of Negril on the road to Sav. Alfred announced Likkle London, as it hove into view. It was the first time I’d noticed a Jamaican actually using that term. As we rolled along Alfred gave us a tour of Jamaican flora. He stopped the van at one point so I could get a shot of an honor-system-breadfruit-stand.

Breadfruit speaks loudly of Jamaica's history.


Mrs. Peel didn’t know that breadfruit wasn’t native to the island. I told her that in the late 1700’s the HMS Bounty had sailed from England for Tahiti. The purpose of the trip was to obtain live Tahitian breadfruit plants and ship them on to Jamaica. Why was England engaged in this botanical experiment? Unfettered (if you’ll excuse that expression in this sad case), free market, capitalism demanded a cheap, easily grown food to feed the Jamaican slaves.

To keep the plants alive on the long voyage the Bounty’s Captain cut the working sailors water ration to intolerable levels. Finally the sailors could take it no more and they mutinied. Captain Bligh and the breadfruit were thrown overboard, Bligh unlike the breadfruit was put in an open (23 Ft.) launch (essentially a lifeboat) with 18 loyal (to the crown anyway) followers. In an absolutely Herculean effort of seamanship Bligh managed to sail this small boat back to the arms of the empire (landing in East Timor- a Dutch possession). Ultimately Bligh was reassigned to the HMS Providence and completed the mission of bringing breadfruit to the W. I. Upon breadfruit’s introduction the slaves refused to eat it. Neither Mrs. Peel nor I imagined that the significance of breadfruit in Jamaica would come full circle by our tour’s end.

In Sav we stopped just past the hospital for some coco bread. Alfred bought it and shared with us (our first taste). He explained a Jamaican theory about breakfast. Alfred said that if you ate something heavy like coco bread or fritters for breakfast, it took a long time to digest and kept you from getting hungry before lunch - important if you’re working in the fields cutting sugarcane.



Our tour then wound on through Ferris Cross, Galloway and so on through Anchovy (located curiously inland) and on to the Rockland’s Bird Sanctuary located at the top of a seemingly un-navigable, narrow, ill maintained mountain road. Alfred’s driving abilities came to the front as he wheeled that big van up a road that would have challenged a motocross rider.

Then our cares were washed away. It’s hard to explain the serenity of Rockland’s, it’s close to intoxicating. Within seconds we were seated in the arbor, surrounded by bird feeders, and native birds. The feeders were visited by Jamaican Orioles, Bananaquits, Orangequits, a Jamaican Woodpecker and two kinds of doves.



Orangequit


Jamaican Woodpecker



(poorly focussed) Jamaican Oriole


Oliver, our host, seated us then took a chair for himself. He began the hard part of his job, calling in the Dr. Birds. Oliver assumed a soft, falsetto voice and began his gentle coaxing, “birdie, birdie, here birdie. . . etc.”. I thought to myself I don’t care how much he makes this must be the best job in the world. His blood pressure must be perfect.


More to follow . . .

[justchuck]

This is great reading! I'm looking forward to reading about your next visit to Sips n Bites . . .

[gerryg123]

Very good reporting with Clarity-style photos interspersed ... Not bad my friend .... It was good to spend the last part of my vacation with you while you were on your first part .... Though you did seem to warm up to the place rather quickly. ... You're a true Negril pro, Rum.

[Clarity]

“Wow, not only Van Gogh colors but a likkle Fauvism thrown in for good measure.”

Love it!
You know a lot about Art, Rum..
You mentioned you were a teacher.
I can tell by your vocabulary, you have a great way with words!
What do you teach?

Oliver, our host, seated us then took a chair for himself. He began the hard part of his job, calling in the Dr. Birds. Oliver assumed a soft, falsetto voice and began his gentle coaxing, “birdie, birdie, here birdie. . . etc.”. I thought to myself I don’t care how much he makes this must be the best job in the world. His blood pressure must be perfect.
More to follow . . .

I agree!
Love the pics!
I really want to go to Rockland Bird Santuary so I’m eager to read more about it!
Please keep it coming!

[Rum-polephoreskin]

Then the Dr. (bird) arrived. They buzzed in. They buzzed out. They buzzed back in again, and then lit in nearby trees. Mrs. Peel and I each held an Appleton miniature filled with sugar water. The bottle was capped and the caps were neatly punctured so the Dr. Bird could dip his bill.


The tongue of a hummingbird (Dr. Birds are hummingbirds) is long and resembles the pistol of a flower but when it leaves the hummingbirds mouth it essentially divides in half length-wise.


Each side resembles a hollow straw except the sides of the hummingbirds tongue are split. They open when they contact fluid then zip closed once their tongue is loaded. The H/B’s tongues flick sugar water 20 x a second.


Wing beats up to 90 x a second. Heart rates can exceed 1200 beats a minute. We are blessed in this world, I’m pretty sure we don’t deserve it.


I was completely moved by the experience. A wild bird landing on your finger is a complete marvel. I felt touched by god (yet “we [I] believe in nothing Lebowski”). There is a you-tube video of a young woman crying as she is immersed in the Rockland’s experience. I’m sure she was overwhelmed with emotion, I was nearly crying myself.
Another couple entered the arbor while we were there. No problem, there were enough birds to go around. It seems you can stay until another (large) group comes along. We sat there and absorbed the wonder for probably an hour and a half. When another loaded tour bus arrived. Oliver gently led us away to investigate the grounds, while the new group with another guide took over the arbor.